11 YouTubers Who Have Spoken Out About Their Struggles With Social Anxiety

Mental Health organisations such as Mental Health Foundation estimate that 10% of the adult UK population suffer social phobia, with women twice as likely as men to suffer (though men are more likely to seek medical help. The NHS defines social anxiety as: Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, is a long-lasting and overwhelming fear of social situations.

YouTubers have been commended for bringing social anxiety and many other mental health problems into the public forum with loads speaking up about these issues.

1. Zoella

“I get anxious around big crowds, I feel like I’m being smothered when I feel panicky. Get outside, go to a public toilet. I know that doesn't sound great but it’s really quiet and it's just you.

If it’s a person that making you feel anxious then get away from them without being rude. Just slip yourself away. I can find myself talking to somebody and they will be making me feel anxious. I just say I’m going to pop and get a drink and leave."

2. Tanya Burr

“I’ve definitely struggled with confidence in the past and I’ve also had really bad anxiety. I used to go and get sick every single morning because I just felt so anxious. I worked myself up so much before school that I was a complete mess and there was no reason for it."

3. Jack Harries

“The other day my friend confided to me. She said that she has been feeling depressed and worse than that, she’d been feeling incredibly alone in her situation. This struck a chord with me, because not too long ago, I too was feeling depressed and I too was feeling incredibly alone and some what shamed about my feelings. So I started to ask few friends about whether that had ever experienced depression or any symptoms related to mental health. Every single one of them said that they had and almost all of them had never spoken to me or anyone else about it.

Mental illness is a thing. It exists. In fact one of four people will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. So if you are not affected by them, one of your friends and family are, and if you don’t know anyone with the mental illness it’s probably because they haven’t told you and they haven’t told you because there’s a social stigma attached to mental health.

A guy called Kevin Breel put it like this, when we break our arm, everyone runs forward to sign the cast, but when we say we have depression, everyone runs the other way. Now I’m not a doctor, but I know that my heart in my organ the same as my brain is an organ. So why don’t we treat them the same. Mental health disabilities are an illness, not a weakness they are an issue, not an identity. It’s okay to be suffering from a mental illness, but it’s not okay to not talk about it, because then we achieved nothing.”

4. Samantha Chapman

“I think I’ve had anxiety since I was in my teens. I wasn’t very good at commutating and always felt slightly uncomfortable around people. I used to bottle emotions up a lot and I remember being a real worrier. The big thing I have no is feeling trapped. It can be in emotional situations or physical situations.

A lot of my triggers are things like if [my sister] Nic’s not with me. And if she’s not there then I’m in a social situation where she’s not there to back me up so there’s the pressure of me having to be funny and chat to people and have to know the answers and ‘perform’.”

5. Meghan Rienks

“I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and ADHD over a year ago and every day is different story. From the outside it’s easy to think that someone has it all figured out.

Anxiety is not a rational thing. I think that’s the things that first thing that struck me. I felt like I was going insane. I feel really anxious meeting large groups of people so it not putting yourself in situations where you are going to feel anxious.”

6. Danielle Mansutti

“My entire life I’ve been a shy person. All the way through school I was always shy always hiding behind my mum. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being shy. Social anxiety is very different.

To me it is being absolutely terrified of answering the phone, being in a full of people and just thinking that everyone hates you and then when you make the effort to socialise with them think that you are annoying them. It’s always always always cancelling plans at the last minute because you cant get the motivation to go out and socialise with people. I’ve suffered with a lot of mental health issues my entire life. Ultimately the thing that has helped me the most has been talking to a therapist.”

7. OhhmyAnnie

“I have social anxiety. It’s a lot easier for me to talk to a camera that to talk to a person. I was a varsity cheerleader in high school, I had friends and you wouldn’t expect that sort of person to have social anxiety but I do. I hate talking to people I don’t know, I hate small talk. Back when I was in high school and I went to restaurants with my boyfriend, he would have to order for me because I was too nervous to talk to the waiter or waitress. My nickname was awkward Annie.

You get out in public and you get a tight tense feeling and you cant really breath and you feel really uncomfortable. And it sucks because I want so badly to connect to people and be outgoing. ”

8. The Dolan twins

“I’m a very anxious person. I want to let you know its okay to not be perfect, to feel down and have a bad day. Its okay to not fit it, it’s okay to be anxious.

Sometimes I have an anxiety attack so bad that I fall on the floor and I literally can’t move or breath and I feel like I’m going to die. And I feel like life sucks and I don’t know what to do. You have to focus on the things in life that you can be positive about.”

9. Sammi Maria

“I struggle with social anxiety, its kind of an on-going thing. I struggle with it off of YouTube. I’m not as bad as some people can be, for the different levels of it. I struggle sometimes.

I love photography and I used to want to be a model. I had a photos shoot but before it I had a total breakdown. I was so scared to go because I didn’t know how it was going to be, what I should say, if I’d look silly and I don’t know how to pose. I was making the situation so much worse in my head. I did all my makeup and I just burst into tears. I thought if I didn’t do it ill be so angry at myself. So I took deep breaths, re-did my makeup and pushed myself to go out the house. It was really good and I felt really comfortable.

That’s an example of how social anxiety can really play havoc with your mind. The point I want to make is I pushed myself and when I read about social anxiety it said to push yourself into uncomfortable situations.”

10. Anastasjia Louise…

“It’s so difficult to describe because for everyone else it’s so easy just to talk and express themselves but with someone with social anxiety, when you’re in a social situation you personality just gets taken from you. I forget who I am, what I stand for, who I love, what I’m doing.

It’s not that we want to be closed off but that we’re so uncomfortable in our own skin. If someone doesn’t invite me or acknowledge my presence then I feel like I’m not invited. If someone has social anxiety I suggest slowly talking to them and slowly interacting with them. Let them get used to your energy, don’t force them.”

If you need advice about any type of mental health issue you can go to organisations such as Mind or talk to your GP.

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